Dress-fitting apparatus



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. I

0. SHANE. DRESS FITTING APPARATUS. No. 451,979. Patented'May 12, 1891.

(No Model.) 2 She ets Sheet 2.

C. SHANE.

DRESS FITTING'APPARATUS.

No. 451,979. Patented May 12, 1891.

ATENT FFIc-E.

CARRIE SHANE, OF VINTON, IOIVA.

DRESS-FITTING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 451,979, dated May 12, 1891.

Application filed November 8, 1890. Serial No. 870,726. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CARRIE SHANE, a citif zen of the United States, residing at Vinton, in the county of Benton and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dress-Fitting Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is to provide the dress-maker with a separable and universally-adjustable dress form or fitting device capable of being applied and fitted to thefigure and then separated and used for the cutting of patterns for the garment, thus insuring a correct fit in the garment without the necessity of refitting the same.

The invention consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts for this purpose, as hereinafter fullyset forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1, Sheet 1, represents the form of the sections composing the right half of the waist; Fig. 2, the sections composing the left sleeve; Fig. 3, sections of the front of the belt and skirt, and Fig. 4: the collar-sections. Fig. 5, Sheet 2, is an enlarged view of two sections composing one-half of the back, showing the devices whereby adjustment is made in all directions; and Fig. 6, a sectional view in the line a: at, Fig. 1, showing the construction of the longitudinal adjusting device.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

In the construction of my fitting device I proceed on the principle of providing a jacket or form composed of separate and separable sections of a predetermined minimum size, and by a system of adjusting fasteners and clasps allow for the extension of the sections in all directions, the meeting-lines of the sections when fitted being the lines on which patterns are cut or the parts of the garment itself.

Referring now to the drawings, the construction of the device will be seen.

In the figures of Sheet 1 I have simply shown the various sections of the garment in outline, indicating also the manner of adj usting them longitudinally. In the principal figure of Sheet 2 I have shown the devices for extending the sections laterallyor at the edges.

It is to be understood that all the sections are provided with similar means for lateral adjustment, the two sections of Fig. 5 being illustrative of the scheme as applied to the whole device.

One-half of the waist-form is composed of the middle back-section A, the back shouldersection B, the back-gore O, the under-arm gore D, the front shoulder-section E F, and the middle front section G. These are provided with adjustable connected pieces, respectively designated as A, A, B, B, O, D, E, F, F, G, and G which form the terminal portions of the sections.

In Fig. 2 are shown the parts of the sleeve. These consist of the upper section H, with its connected adjustable pieces h, h, and h", and the under section having similar connected parts '5, z", and 2'.

In Fig. 3 is an ideal representation of the belt and skirt forms j j, k Z, J J, K K, and L. It is to be understood that these are the parts of the left side and front part of the belt and skirt, it being necessary to have a pattern for only the front half of the belt and skirt. It is further to be understood that the parts are connected by means of the clasps hereinafter to be described, and are made adjustable in the same manner as are the other parts similarly provided. It will be seen that the front sections of belt j j and 70 7c correspond in length with the Width of the upper edges of the parts J J and K K to which, in the fitting of the device to the figure, they are connected.

Fig. 4 shows the parts of the neckband or collar. The parts M M are provided with clasps on the lower edge and at the ends, whereby they are adapted to connect with the parts of the waist and with each other and in the same manner as the back-sections. (Shown in Fig. 5.) The width of the collar is regulated by adjustable pieces m m in vthe same way as the parts of the Waist and sleeve.

By reference to the various plan views and the sectional View, Fig. 6, the adjustment of the parts of each section with respect to each other will be understood. Taking, for illustration, the section A, it will be seen that the part A at the upper end overlaps the part A while at the lower end the part A overlaps it. These lapping parts are provided with longitudinal slots e e, and through them passes a small bolt c having a large head, and at the other end provided with a thumb-nut (1, bearing on a washer d. The upper end of the parts A and A is provided with atab-a, by means of which it is grasped and drawn by the hand of the operator. Opposite to this, on the same parts, is a tab 1), extending in the opposite direction, and for drawingin the oppositedirection. The lower end of the part A and-Aisa tongue 0, passing through a hole or slot e in the part A andA", respectively. In adjusting-the parts, (at the upper end, for example,) the-thumb-nuts-being loosened, the operator draws on the parts A and b to lengthen the section, and on the parts a-and c to shorten the same. For convenience a suitable tab b may be attached to theparts A and. A. p

A modification is shownin the arm-sections, Fig. 2, the shoulder portions-of the sleeve being composed of two parts in each sectionfor adjustment to the size of the armhole. I therefore make the slots 6' a longer than in the other sections, curving themv preferably, and thus allow the tongue to swingin the slot as the parts h or h" (or the corresponding parts of the other section) spread at the free end.

To the outer edges of the various parts above described are attached a series-of clasps N N. These are in the nature of the common belt-clasp, but at each end are providedwith a supplemental transverse slot at to allowfor the passage of a longitudinal tape P, which holds the clasps in proper position when the sections are disconnected. The parts of the clasp are mounted onsuitable straps O 0, attached near the edges of the sections, and are adjustable on said straps in the same manner as is the common beltclasp. Each side of the hook it and eye. a is a straight portion 01", which serves as the guide for the pencil in laying out a pattern, as indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 5. hen clasped, these edges should of course meet or almost meet, (the pencil-point being more or less blunt,) so that the line marked by the pencil would indicate the middle of the space between them.

The tapes P are fastened adj ustably at the corners of the sections by a metallic clasp Q, having a tongue q, between which and the body of the clasp the tape is drawn and is held by thepinch of the parts.

The sections should be made of some stout in elastic material, as duck or leather, (preferably the latter,) and the connected straps and tapes should possess the same characteristics.

The operation of the invention will now be readily understood. The parts of the waist, for example, are connected in the order of arrangement shown in Fig. 1, the sections being distended somewhat larger than the figure to be fitted. Now by means of the fasteners cl, in connection with the slots in the parts of the sections, the said sections are adjusted longitudinally, and by a lateral adjustment of the clasps the whole waist is fitted to the figure with the utmost neatness andprecision. The parts are then unclasped and with the outer edges of the clasps as a guide a suitable pattern is marked out for the waist, or the same may be marked directly on the fabric, the'former method being preferable. The same operation applies to the otherparts of the dress herein described. While the parts of thedevice are-in connection on the figure the tapes P P are drawn taut and fastened in the corner-clasps Q. These have an adjustment similar to that of the parts of the section with respect to each other, and may be so adjusted as to draw outwardly on each clasp between them, and

thus prevent them from slipping out of their true position, as on the figure. The adjustment is of course limited, and the device should be made in about three sizes, one for very small. figures, one for the average figure, and one for very large people.

In practice the two-sections shown in Fig. 5 are used as one section by simply closing the hook of one of the clasps at or near the waist or belt line, thus locking, the clasp together.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a dress iitting device, the combina tion of a constituent section having lateral straps O O, clasps N, adjustably mounted thereon, longitudinal tapes P P, connected with said clasps, and fasteners Q, to which the ends of the said tapes are secured, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

2'. The herein-described clasp N, having transverse end slots 1?. n, in combination with a dress-fitting section having lateral straps O O, and the longitudinal tapes P P, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of a dress-fitting section, substantially as described, and having a series of lateral straps, clasps adjustably mounted on said straps, tapes connecting said clasps-longitudinally, and an adjustable corner-fastener Q, having a tongue (1 adapted to clamp and hold the end' of the tape.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CARRIE SHANE.

Witnesses:

P. W. REIDER, S. W. BRAINERD. 

